Make the polluters pay

The Swachh Survekshan awards have bestowed Surat in Gujarat, and Indore in Madhya Pradesh with the moniker of the cleanest cities in India. The list of top 10 cleanest cities with a population exceeding 1 lakh includes Greater Visakhapatnam, Bhopal, Vijayawada, New Delhi, Tirupati, Greater Hyderabad and Pune. The 10 municipal areas with a population of over 1 lakh at the bottom of the list were from West Bengal. The parameters on which the awards were given out include cleanliness, garbage collection, sanitation, sewage network, pollution, bioremediation of landfills, open-defecation free (ODF), among others.

Interestingly, the recognition of the Union Urban Affairs Ministry saw Chennai’s rank slipping to 199; it was ranked 45 in 2020, 43 a year later, and 44 in 2022. It is worth noting that no city in Tamil Nadu found a spot in the top 100 as Tiruchy, which was the state’s highest ranked city, trailed behind at 112. Chennai ranks alongside major metros like Mumbai (ranked 189) and Kolkata (ranked 438), teeming over with floating populations, but failing to implement efficient solid waste management policies.

Take a look at the numerics of Singara Chennai: The city processed just about 12% of its generated waste, while leaving the disposal of the bulk of its garbage unaddressed. A mere 21% of the two landfills, Perungudi and Kodungaiyur have been bioremediated. The city generates over 6,500 tonnes of waste per day. However, officials attribute problematic solid waste management and sewer network issues to areas that were expanded in 2011, in the absence of any basic amenities and infrastructure. Authorities are unable to identify land for waste processing in South Chennai, as opposed to North Chennai where there is adequate land for waste processing. The city has also ranked poorly in metrics pertaining to ODF, as it scored 725 points out of 2,500, a reminder of sanitation facilities failing to reach the underserved.

The survey tells us that 77% public toilets in Chennai are clean; but good luck finding a guinea pig who can be conned into using one such toilet. What worked in Chennai’s favour? Door to door collection of refuse – at 95%, cleanliness of markets – 90%, cleanliness of residential areas – 91% as well as water body cleanliness at 85%. But, our segregation at source mandate (from 2018) bit the dust. An even-odd system of collection of recyclable and non-recyclable waste on alternate days is something experts have suggested, but we all know how practical that can be.

Economic affluence, or equity might not guarantee cleanliness and sanitation, but it is a good start point. The state needs to invest transparently and generously to improve public, and thereby private sanitation. Also, reconsider waste disposal policies and enforcement.

A culture of cleanliness is something we utterly lack; Exhibit A: our air quality that went down on account of Bhogi. And the less said about the beaches in the city in the aftermath of Mattu Pongal, the better. Just this week, Tamil Nadu was ranked No 3 in generation of waste from smoke tobacco — cigarettes, bidi butts, and packages, right behind UP and West Bengal. Let’s crack the whip on this nuisance, and not shield it under the pretext of religious, communal overtones or just sheer ignorance and arrogance – make the polluters pay.